Please Buy Gorgeous Palestinian Olive Oil
In 2003, two (extra)ordinary young women founded Zaytoun, with the help of several benefactors, a company to import and distribute Palestinian olive oil, olive soaps and other foods grown by Palestinians, through a largely voluntary network of distributors.
They had both spent a while in Israel/Palestine and had witnessed for themselves the way the Israeli occupation was wreaking havoc on the Palestinian economy and the lives of a people, the roots of whose culture still penetrated deeply into the land which they have farmed for generations. Swathes of land have been annexed by Israel for its huge settlements, a settler-only network of roads, and latterly by the Separation Wall, and water sources grabbed for itself to keep settlement gardens green and swimming pools full, while surrounding Palestinian farming land grows arid. All these have eroded Palestinian land ownership and the whole ecology of this once beautiful, unspoilt region.
The olive tree and its fruit are at the heart of the Palestinian way of life, crucial to its economy. In Autumn, everyone gets involved in the olive harvest. It becomes a celebration in itself. The olive trees on a family’s land are old friends – they can live for hundreds years. The Israelis have uprooted an estimated 700,000 of them since 2000 to clear the way for their roads, etc.[i] Some are taken away and replanted in settlements or in Israel [ii].
Ordinary Palestinian men and women are not terrorists, and many, although keen on education, are not ambitious for Western notions of success, but desire the simple human right to sit in the shade of their own fig tree of an evening, and watch their children or grandchildren play.
In setting up Zaytoun, Heather and Cathi are doing something really practical to help. All products are fairly traded and pesticide-free. I am selling them for a small amount above wholesale price, to cover delivery charges, keeping the prices competitive with supermarket prices. The quality of the olive oil is excellent. Malcolm Gluck, of Superplonk fame, agrees. A 500ml bottle of extra virgin (first cold press) oil is £5. Also available to order: 750 ml oil, organic range of oil, olive soap, almonds, medjoul dates, couscous (from Gaza), za’tar (thyme-based herb mix). Phone me on 01252 726099 or email robthorburn@btinternet.com for a full price list. for a full price list.
Rob Thorburn
[i] http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=903
[ii] “Palestinian Olive Trees Sold to Rich Israelis”, Alan Philps, Daily Telegraph 27 Nov 2002
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